While some things have changed…
➔ We’ve written here as have an army of folks in other venues about the differences in today’s job market and how to secure a full-time position in that market. Sight unseen, we can venture to say that most, if not all of that is true.
But what about the constants? You know. The things that never change. You know, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The same old, same old
It’s true that the job market has changed. It’s also true that there are some (many?) things that haven’t changed; that are just as they were years and decades ago.
Networking is one. Most recruiters will confess that being out there, meeting people, meeting new people and leveraging those new contacts will pay enormous benefits to your job search. Some job-search experts claim that as many as 70-80 percent (or more?) of all jobs are filled directly or indirectly by networking.
Not dissimilar from networking, there is an old adage that claims that “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” The meaning being that personal contacts, referrals and recommendations (within reason) will trump any resume, any cover letter, any jobs board, an automated tracking system (ATS), any Zoom meeting, etc., etc., etc.
That concept was certainly bible for anyone who hasn’t searched for a position in two decades or more. That’s the way things were done. That’s the way things got done.
So what would make you think that this pesonal approach wouldn’t apply today? Truth is that who you know trumps what you know today as in years past; and it applies in virtually all businesses; in virtually all industries; regardless of the economy; regardless of the job market; regardless of… most everything.